The Long Road Back
by Jak Pickens
Summary: Bruce shows up to Selina's hospital with a present that would change her life. (Post-Season 4) (T for swearing)


**A/N: So, in one of my previous BrucexSelina oneshots I said that if they crippled Cat, I'd quit watching the show. Well, I was completely prepared to do so when the doctor told Bruce that her spinal cord damage would probably be permanent. I almost cried tbh. But then I thought, "Bruce Wayne is the owner of a multibillion dollar company with an applied sciences division led by Lucius Fox who would later build every kind of gadget known to man…he could make something to fix her spine…" Besides, she's freaking Catwoman!**

 **The Long Road Back**

"We're doing everything we can, but the evacuation has us dealing with a skeleton crew," the doctor told Bruce as they rushed Selina to a hospital room for emergency surgery.

"Bruce?" Selina asked, lightheaded from the blood loss and meds they'd given her to prep for surgery. "Bruce…Br…"

Bruce rushed forward so he could see her. "You're at the hospital, you're gonna be okay," he assured, although that probably wasn't fully true. The doctors had started to examine the position of where she was shot while they were in the ambulance, and the looks on their faces hadn't exactly been comforting.

She looked up at him, and the fear in her eyes broke his heart. "Are you gonna leave me?" she asked weakly.

"No," Bruce told her, "No, I'm gonna be right here…"

"Promise?" she asked, her voice breaking and tears starting to well in her eyes.

"I'm promise," Bruce swore. A slight look of relief came across her face at his words.

They pulled her gurney through a pair of double doors, and that was the last he saw of her until after the surgery, when they were loading her into an ambulance to take her out of Gotham.

Bruce made Alfred go with her, determined to stay in Gotham and help the best he could, as well as finding Jeremiah and making him pay for what he'd done…

* * *

Three Months Later

Selina heard a slight knock at her door. She looked up from her bed where she'd been stranded since she'd woken up. Occasionally a doctor would help her into a wheelchair to go get lunch or something, but she'd been bedridden for far too long.

Unfortunately, it would remain that way for the rest of her life.

Even then, she would've done it again if it meant saving Bruce.

Speaking of which, the young man himself was standing there with a bouquet and a wrapped present.

Selina gaped at the sight of him. He'd grown a few more inches and was much buffer than before, but it was his eyes that caught her attention. That usual pent up rage he always had was no longer contained in them, as though he'd let it run free in his mind.

He grinned weakly at her. "Hi, Selina," he said.

Her bottom lip started to tremble. "Hi…" she said. For some reason, she got really embarrassed, him seeing her like that, all crippled and helpless. "How have you been?" she asked.

He didn't respond. Instead, he dropped the flowers and present at the foot of the bed and practically ran to her. She reached out to him and brought him down into a kiss. He ran his hands down her back and she gripped his over grown hair tightly in her fingers, not wanting to let him get away again.

Tears of relief ran down both of their faces. Alfred had told her a lot about what Bruce was doing in Gotham. Every day she woke up she had thought of what she would do was Alfred to walk in, tell her that Bruce had been killed, that he'd died a hero, that he'd done it for her.

She pushed him off and slapped him.

Hard.

Stars danced in Bruce's eyes as she scolded, "You're a son of a bitch, you know that!? What would I have done had you gotten your sorry ass killed, huh? What would _Alfred_ have done? For one second, did you _ever_ think of what it would do to us? To me?" her voice broke on the last word.

Tears were streaming down her face, full-flood, now.

The look of pain in his eyes said all he needed to, but Bruce still told her, "Selina. I'm…I'm sorry."

Selina was about to go off again, but she held back her tongue, too shocked by the sincerity and regret in his voice to continue scolding him.

He continued, "I put you here. It was my fault. I thought that if I could find Jeremiah… I thought it would make up for it."

Selina shook her head. "You're so full of shit, Bruce Wayne." She grabbed him and pulled him into another kiss. After a few seconds, she breathed, "But I still love you…"

Both their eyes went wide at her confession. Bruce told her, "I love you too, Selina." They continued to kiss until Bruce pulled away and said, "But this _is_ my fault, and there's only one way I know how to make it up to you."

He took the small present from the foot of the bed and handed it to her.

Eyeing it suspiciously, Selina unwrapped the gift and found a small metal device, inside.

"What is this?" she asked, examining the device. It looked like a tiny metal centipede with hundreds of microscopic wires sticking out from one side, but the other was completely smooth.

Bruce answered, "As soon as I got the update that your spinal cord had been injured, I tasked Lucius with making a device that could make an artificial one…"

Selina's eyes went wide. "So, you're saying…"

"You're gonna walk again," Bruce finished. "Not just that, you're gonna run, climb, everything."

Selina shook her head, tears reforming in her eyes. "Bruce…" she uttered in awe.

He smiled weakly. "However, it isn't going to be easy. It's gonna be a long road back to where you were, but…"

He didn't finish as Selina brought his face down to hers. She kissed him like they never had before.

All their prior kisses had been ones of attraction, flirting, or just for fun. Even the one before she'd gotten shot couldn't compare to this. This one was different.

It was love.

This was love.

After what felt like an eternity, they both released each other and Bruce told her, "As soon as you're ready, the surgeons can start."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Selina asked.

* * *

After a seven hour surgery, Selina woke up back in her recovery room, Bruce and Alfred at her side. However, they were now joined by another man, Lucius Fox himself.

"Good morning, Miss Kyle," he greeted.

She grinned hazily, still high from the pain meds. "Hey Lucy," she said. "Did…did the spine-bug thing work?" she asked.

Lucius grinned. "At the moment, yes, but whether or not your body will accept the device…that still remains a mystery."

"But, it should work," Bruce assured. "Lucius did extensive tests before letting me give you the implant."

"It couldn't get much worse anyways…thanks, Lucy," Selina lulled before suddenly going back under.

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, thanks Lucy," he teased.

Lucius shook his head and good-naturedly said, "It's my pleasure, Mr. Wayne. Now, I better get going. Gotham's bridges aren't going to rebuild themselves, after all."

A few weeks later, a doctor came in with the final x-ray results.

Bruce sat on the edge of his seat, holding Selina's hand.

The doctor smiled and said, "Results came back. Her body mended with the implant perfectly."

A sigh of joy and relief left both the teens.

Selina impulsively asked, "So, when can I start walking again?"

The doctor sighed. "I'm afraid it isn't that simple. Although your body isn't attacking the implant, like it would a virus or harmful object, the implant has had to stay immobile so it wouldn't trigger anything. Within the next few weeks, Mr. Fox will activate it and it will start to rebuild your lower spinal cord."

"So…how long?" Selina pressed.

The doctor shook her head. "We're in untouched waters, right now. To be honest with you, I have no idea how long it will take before your spine completely mends. Then, you'll have to rebuild all the muscles in your legs and abdomen, and make sure that your brain accepts the new cord before we can start rehab."

The news brought Selina's spirits down, but Bruce assured her, "It's gonna be a long road back, but we'll get there, together."

The doctor smiled at the young lovers. She told Selina, "Without support, most patients don't ever fully recover. You're lucky to have him."

Selina nodded, gazing into her boyfriend's eyes. "Don't I know it," she replied.

* * *

"You can do it," Bruce encouraged. "Just a bit more pressure and your feet will be on the floor."

Selina had been harnessed up above a platform, and she gripped onto the two support rails until her knuckles went white. Deeply breathing in and out, she lowered herself onto the platform, feeling her feet touch the ground for the first time in the six months since she'd been shot.

Bruce exclaimed, "You did it, Cat!"

Selina nodded, too focused on keeping her legs still to respond to his outburst.

Slowly, she raised one of her feet into the air, and then brought it forward.

When it touched, her leg immediately gave out and if it weren't for the harnesses, she would've gone crashing down to the floor.

"Shit!" she swore in annoyance.

"Hey, this is progress," Bruce encouraged. "Given that two months ago you were never gonna stand up again, you just took a huge step to recovering."

Selina shook her head, allowing herself to hang in the harness. "I know, I just wish I was making _more_ progress. Like you said, it's been two months since the surgery. I should've made more progress by now."

"You _should've_ never felt your legs again," Bruce rebutted, "and, yet, here you are. You'll get there, but you gotta stay positive, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay, but right now I need to sit down. Can you carry me?" she asked. Ever since she'd started rehab, she'd refused to sit in a wheelchair. So she'd had Bruce carry her everywhere, bridal style. Everywhere except the bathroom, of course, which he'd still volunteered to do, but that was where Selina drew the line. At least…for now.

He helped her out of the harness and lifted her up like a child, which she secretly enjoyed. She threw her arms around his neck and announced, "Onward!"

Bruce chuckled at her odd timing for a joke, but did as she said.

* * *

"Just take it slow," Bruce told her. "There's no rush, and I'll be right here if you need me to catch you, okay?"

"Okay," Selina replied. The doctor had convinced her to use a wheelchair for this step, and had begrudgingly agreed. Using all the upper and lower body strength she could muster, Selina locked the wheels into place and took hold of the hand rails. Bruce reached forwards to help her but she told him, "No, I need to do this by myself."

Bruce nodded and took a step back, trying to allow as little distance between them as possible in case she were to fall.

Taking a deep breath, Selina raised herself from her chair and into a standing position.

The lack of a harness made her legs go wobbly, but she knew she had to do this. Willing her limbs to stop shaking, she steadied herself on her feet.

Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Bruce bite his knuckle in a mix of joy and nerves. The sight made her smile.

She assured him, "I got this, Bruce."

Picking up her back foot, she brought it forward. Her knuckles had gone purple and her arms were shaking from the pressure. Painfully slowly, she put her foot down, and it started to tremble under her weight. However from pure force of will, she balanced out.

The next step was the moment of truth.

Body shaking from the strain Selina was putting on herself, she brought her hind foot forward and lined it up with the other, slowly setting her full weight down on her legs.

"Yes!" Bruce yelled, overjoyed by the progress she'd just made.

He helped her back down into the chair where she almost immediately passed out. He hugged her torso so her head was resting on his chest. He raked her hair back with his finger and said, "I'm so proud of you, Selina."

Unbeknownst to him, Selina heard every word, and she contently fell asleep to the steady beating of his heart.

* * *

Three more long months had passed and Selina had made an astounding recovery. She could now walk entirely by herself and was even starting to run a bit on treadmills.

Bruce was always there. Always. Right by her side just in case she needed him.

Granted, she never complained about his presence.

They were returning to her room after the longest walk she'd had yet and that was where they found Lucius.

"Lucius!" Selina exclaimed, immediately hugging the man who'd made the device that'd healed her.

He grunted from the shock of her crashing into him, but recovered quick enough. "Hello, Miss Kyle, Mr. Wayne," he greeted.

"Hi, Lucius," Bruce responded, shaking the man's hand. Bruce asked, "So, what's the occasion?"

Lucius picked up a box from behind him and handed it to Selina. "This is for you," he said.

She and Bruce exchanged an excited glance, and she started tearing open the package.

She pulled out a small chip from a glass case and Lucius told her, "It's an improved version of the steroid that was used to fix your spine. I think that you'll find it quite useful."

She handed it to Bruce and raised up the hem of her shirt. On her mid back, the skin-colored device slightly protruded and Bruce was able to find the place where the chip would insert.

At first, Selina didn't feel much different, but after a couple seconds she felt a rush of energy course through her body. The constant aching pain in her lower back and stomach disappeared for the first time in nearly a year, and she felt as though nothing had ever happened.

She stood up tall and jumped up and down a couple times, blissfully enjoying the relief she was feeling. She asked Lucius, "When is this gonna wear off?"

Lucius smiled. "That's the thing, Miss Kyle. It won't. The steroid is constantly circling through a specific part of the implant that I designed for it, but I only just figured out the correct chemical formula."

Selina froze. "So, you're telling me…"

"That you are completely healed, yes," Lucius answered. He held up a few papers and said, "Hospital released you this morning."

Bruce and Selina looked at each other in awe, before Selina threw herself into his arms. He started jumping and spinning around, causing her to cackle in joy.

He finally set her down and kissed her, sharing one last moment in the room that they'd both practically called home for nine months.

* * *

Bruce pulled up to the Manor and they calmly walked past the kitchen where Alfred was cooking away.

Bruce was going to say something, but Selina signaled for him to be silent and to follow her upstairs.

She arrived at his bedroom door and grabbed him by his collar, pulling the boy into another kiss.

She opened the door and said, "I've been waiting nine months for this," and she entered the room, dragging Bruce in with her, who closed the door behind them.

Down the hall from Bruce's room was the place that Selina had been shot. Where that whole mess had began.

However, as the night went on, the study would go neglected, as Alfred mostly stayed in the kitchen, and Bruce and Selina retired in Bruce's bedroom.

 **A/N: So, I really hope something like this happens in the last couple episodes of the upcoming Season 5 (Even though we have to wait until next year to get it). I mean, they can't cripple Catwoman…right? I pretty much had to write this so I could get over that scene of Jeremiah asking Bruce if, "The little bitch is ever gonna walk again." I've never hated a villain more in my life than when Jeremiah said that. This is me reconciling with that scene.**

 **Anyways, enough of my ranting. Thanks for being such an incredible audience throughout Season 4, and be sure to stick around for your fill of Gotham stories. The show may be temporarily on hold, but I'm just getting started. Thanks for reading!**

 **Oh, and I just to clarify, I won't be stopping writing since Selina is currently crippled in Canon, but I'll probably just try to ignore that in future fics.**


End file.
